Plans for Sunday

Dh and I go out for dinner every December 31st. But not for New Years Eve, but for our anniversary. :-)

We go to a certain restaurant that is only for our anniversary. (Okay, I would love to go to this place more often, but it is not in THAT price range.) We save up all year for this dinner.

It's hard to beleive that another year has gone by. It seems like just yesterday that I was getting used to writing "2006" on my checks....now I need to get used to putting "2007" down.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Updated "Grateful" list

What I am grateful for:



1. Jehovah God
2. His Son, Jesus
3. God’s word, The Bible.
4. My wonderful Husband
5. Ian
6. Ainsley
7. Heather
8. Jennifer
9. Donald
10. Mom
11. Becky, my sister
12. Rich, my brother and his family
13. Kathy, my sister-in-law and her family
14. Joan, my mother-in-law
15. Even my sister-in-law, April, that I have never met and probably never will and her family.


16. Ability to practice the religion of my choice
17. Aloe Vera plants
18. Antibiotics
19. Apples
20. Avocados
21. Baby Blues (cartoon)
22. Bean Soup
23. Bees
24. Birds
25. Biscuits, hot from the oven
26. Books
27. Brigadoon (movie)
28. Brown Sugar
29. Butterflies
30. Butterfly kisses
31. Calvin and Hobbes (cartoon)
32. Cameos (jewelry)
33. Carnations
34. Cartoons
35. Cats (Cosmo and Payne)
36. Cell phones
37. Charm Bracelets
38. Chickens
39. Clothes Dryers
40. Colored pencils
41. Cookbooks
42. Corn bread
43. Cotton
44. Crayons
45. Cross-stitching
46. Cucumbers
47. Diamonds
48. Dogs (Rocket)
49. Earthly Paradise
50. Eggs
51. Electricity
52. Fall
53. Fall Leaves
54. fishies (aquarium type)
55. Flour
56. Flowers
57. Food in my pantry
58. Gardens
59. Gold
60. Goldfish crackers
61. Gone With the Wind (book and movie)
62. Googly eyes
63. Home
64. Ice cubes
65. In-door plumbing
66. Internet (for information and friends)
67. Jumping in a pile of leaves
68. Kitchen Aid mixers, specifically mine. J
69. Kittens
70. Lettuce
71. Libraries
72. Lighthouses
73. Lilacs
74. Lobster
75. Mangos
76. Miss Kayla, in Georgia
77. Miss Norma, my WW Friend
78. Miss Sharon, my Mary Kay Director
79. Miss Sue, my WW leader
80. Miss Theresa, in Florida
81. Miss Traci
82. Molasses
83. Money (The fact that we have enough for bills and a few “extras”)
84. Moon
85. My spiritual brothers and sisters
86. Oxygen
87. paints
88. Panthers
89. Pasta
90. Pecans
91. Pictures of loved ones
92. Pine Trees
93. Pink, the color
94. Platinum
95. Powdered Sugar
96. Puppies
97. Purple anything
98. Rainbows
99. Resurrection Hope
100. Roses
101. Salmon (Yummy)
102. Sewing machines
103. Shrimp
104. Silver
105. Slides
106. Spring
107. Stars
108. Story books
109. Summer
110. Sun
111. Sun-ripened tomatoes
112. Swings
113. Teapots (I collect them)
114. Thrift stores
115. Tortilla Chips
116. Trees
117. Upright freezer, to store my meat deals
118. Walnuts
119. Washing machines
120. Water
121. Wheat
122. Wild animals
123. Wine
124. Winter
125. Zoos

Still around, just busy.

This past week has been busy...so blogging has taken a back seat to life.

Monday took D to have his hand looked at by our regular doctor. Well, actually a CNP, but I like her better. :-) She said that D was to stay home from work AND school until the 2nd of January. She did not want to take a chance with infection.

Tuesday, I worked on my talk that I gave last night (Thursday). Then just worked on laundry and taking people here and there.

Wednesday I spent at the subustitute teacher orientation. That went very well. Of course, at one point I was the oldest person in there for the orientation. LOLOL Then thankfully some other ladies around my age showed up! The rest of the day was spent with DH and then we went out to eat. Had sushi! YUMM! I love it.

Thursday was more laundry and going over my talk for that night. That night went smoothly. The sister that was my householder was, of course, wonderful. I am just glad it is over with....at least til next time. LOLOL

Today I am going to do more laundry (I swear, sometimes I feel that is ALL I do!) Then I am goint to finish up some items that DH asked me to help with and then maybe do some cooking.

I hope everyone has a great day AND weekend!

**Kayla, I will add some more to my list soon.... I promise.**

Weird font changes

That is so weird. My previous post went really small about half-way through!

I don't even know how to change the font on this blog thing! I guess I should learn so that I can fix that!

That will teach me to say nothing exciting has been happening...

Okay....so I made my post earlier. Went to do dishes and my phone rings.

DsS17 calls to tell me that he has been burned at work and needs to go to the ER!

Well.....my day goes nothing as planned after that.

Got the kids in the car, call DH on my way and get to D's job. He comes out before I am halfway across the parking lot. I look at his hand....very red, but only alittle blister!

Get in the van and head to the ER. Thankfully they were almost empty. We go back almost immediately.

They clean his hand and his forearm. (There is tea leaves all over it) Then they apply silver "something" (I can not remember what, but it's for burns). It is then loosely bandaged. Oh, before doing this, they give him a vicadin to help with the pain.

Then I got extra guaze, more of the silver stuff and instructions on how to clean the burned areas.

Most was just first degree burns, with some areas of second degree. He was very fortunate, because it could have been ALOT worse.

Now, he is laying in bed, bored as can be. Plus his is bummed because he really needed the money and now he can not work. But he does get out of any writing this week in school. ;-)

Nothing exciting going on...

Not alot is going on here that I can blog about.

I am still reading the Complete TWG, but there has been nothing major to add to what I am already doing.

I am trying to use up left overs better. I was going through a phase of throwing out more than I was using up! Not a good thing!

I am going to the orientation for the teaching position on the 20th of this month, so I hope that means I will start taking assignments in January.

I am looking forward to having some "spending money" of my own that does not need to come from the "household" funds.

I will try and post again sooner.

**Oh and I have not forgotten the 1000 list...I just need to sit and type of the new ones.**

Saturday Thoughts

Hi all,

Just sitting here updating my blog. :-)

Not alot going on here.

Still deciding if I want to have "no internet" days or not. And if I do....what days they would be. Maybe I will have "no message board" days. They seem to be what suck up my time. LOL

I put in an application to be a substitute teacher here in my school district. I like the idea of being able to take jobs when I want to, and have a little bit of money for "putting away". I like the idea of buying DH something with money that did not come from "his" paycheck. LOL

I bought some milled flax seed at the store yesterday. Does anyone have any good recipes for it? I want to start incorporating it into my diet. I have heard some great things about it.

Have a great day everyone!

No-Internet days

Okay, my time online is interferring in my caring for my home and family! I said it!

I am looking into establishing "no internet days" for myself. Has anyone else ever done that?

I just feel that I am allowing this World Wide Web is taking away from my home. I don't want to cut out the internet completely. I have learned alot about being frugal from the internet, it does have it's benefits. I just seem to have a weakness for the time I spend on here and the boards I visit.

I have not decided which days it will be, but I am going to pray and think about this....

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

What I am Grateful For:

What I am grateful for:



1. Jehovah God
2. His Son, Jesus
3. God’s word, The Bible.
4. My wonderful Husband
5. Ian
6. Ainsley
7. Heather
8. Jennifer
9. Donald
10. Mom
11. Becky, my sister
12. Rich, my brother and his family
13. Kathy, my sister-in-law and her family
14. Joan, my mother-in-law
15. Even my sister-in-law, April, that I have never met and probably never will and her family.


16. Ability to practice the religion of my choice
17. Aloe Vera plants
18. Antibiotics
19. Apples
20. Baby Blues (cartoon)
21. Bean Soup
22. Bees
23. Birds
24. Biscuits, hot from the oven
25. Books
26. Brigadoon (movie)
27. Butterflies
28. Butterfly kisses
29. Calvin and Hobbes (cartoon)
30. Carnations
31. Cartoons
32. Cats (Cosmo and Payne)
33. Cell phones
34. Clothes Dryers
35. Colored pencils
36. Cookbooks
37. Corn bread
38. Cotton
39. Crayons
40. Cross-stitching
41. Cucumbers
42. Dogs (Rocket)
43. Earthly Paradise
44. Fall
45. Fall Leaves
46. fishies (aquarium type)
47. Flowers
48. Food in my pantry
49. Gardens
50. Goldfish crackers
51. Gone With the Wind (book and movie)
52. Googly eyes
53. Home
54. Ice cubes
55. Internet (for information and friends)
56. Jumping in a pile of leaves
57. Lettuce
58. Lighthouses
59. Lobster
60. Mangos
61. Miss Kayla, in Georgia
62. Miss Norma, my WW Friend
63. Miss Sharon, my Mary Kay Director
64. Miss Sue, my WW leader
65. Miss Theresa, in Florida
66. Miss Traci
67. Money (The fact that we have enough for bills and a few “extras”)
68. Moon
69. My spiritual brothers and sisters
70. Oxygen
71. paints
72. Panthers
73. Pasta
74. Pictures of loved ones
75. Pine Trees
76. Pink, the color
77. Purple anything
78. Rainbows
79. Resurrection Hope
80. Roses
81. Salmon (Yummy)
82. Sewing machines
83. Shrimp
84. Slides
85. Spring
86. Stars
87. Story books
88. Summer
89. Sun
90. Sun-ripened tomatoes
91. Swings
92. Teapots (I collect them)
93. Thrift stores
94. Trees
95. Upright freezer, to store my meat deals
96. Washing machines
97. Water
98. Wild animals
99. Wine
100. Winter
101. Zoos

I haven't forgotten about this blog, I promise.

I have not had much computer time lately. I will write more soon. I am also working on my own personal "One Thousands Things to be Grateful For!" (Thanks Kayla! :-P Just kidding, you know I wub you!)

New recipe

I tried a new WW friendly recipe yesterday. It is called "Slow Cooked Tuscan Styled Sausage and Bean Soup". I was nervous fixing this for the family because one of the ingredients was Kale. Now, I have no qualms about that, but I love soups with different ingredients and one of my favs is "Italian Wedding Soup", which has spinach.

ANYWAYS..... The kids liked it. Now, they didn't LOVE it, but that is okay. I can handle "like". :-D DS7 also ate ALL the kale in the soup!!!!!! He wasn't too excited about the beans, but he ate what I told him he had to. I was just stunned by the Kale. He even said he "kinda liked it". Well, that will be a soup that will show up on our dinner table again. (Only 4 points for 1 1/3 cups)

I also took some day old italian bread, sliced it and then turned it into garlic toast. Very nice meal on a cold, windy and wet day.

Things are quiet here on the homefront. Today is cold and windy, but at least dry. I need to bake some goodies for the school play tomorrow night, but other than that, just normal daily Monday chores.

**OH, thank Kayla for you comment on my previous post. It made me smile!**

When you can not decide what to blog about...

I have so many different things that I want to write about, but can not decide if I should or not.

First, and I can not beleive I am blogging this..... I am thinking of trying out cloth sanitary napkins. Yeah, I know... "EEEEWWW". I did that also, at first. Now, the idea is growing on me. LOLOLOLOL I have read several posts from SEVERAL ladies that they love them. So, I am thinking of sewing up a few and giving them a try.

Also, on a more serious note. I am SO sick and tired of "good" meaning christians telling me that I am in a cult! UUGH! If they only stopped and thought about it, they would realize how misguided that truly is. I am a Christain thru and thru. Because I belong to a faith that does not beleive in the doctrine of the trinity (which is not found in the Bible), I must belong to a cult. What phooey!

Okay, that felt good to get off my chest!

There are other things, but I figured that was enough for now.

Kids are out of school tomorrow.

It has been busy here the last couple of days.

Keeping up with the housework, taking sD18 back and forth to work, and normal errands. Plus, we have been participating in a new campaign out in the field service work.

Tomorrow is a payday, so I normally do a semi-big grocery trip. I will be doing this tomorrow with both kids in tow. Not bad, but I do have to plan a little differently. LOL

Latest TWG incorporation:

Besides just committing to use up leftovers better and getting back into making things from scratch, not much.

I am planning to experiment with some breakfast items. I want to start weaning my kids off of cereal for breakfast. I try to get them on sale w/coupons, but they are still a budget hog!

I will keep the blog updated on what I do and how it turns out.

Updates from Virginia

Here are the results of I's doctor appointment on Tuesday:



NO MORE CAST!

Tightwad Gazatte Update:

Tonight (Thursday) I re-instituted the "Baked Potato Night". This is actually a favorite around here. As long as I have a few of the favorite toppings on hand. :-)

These include, but are not limited to:

Chili; usually homemade, but I try to have canned in the pantry just in case.
Steamed Broccoli; This is actually my 7 year old's favorite!
Butter, shredded cheese, and taco toppings.

So, depending on what is homemade verses store bought, I can feed the family for less than $5.00. Not bad if you ask me!

The original "Frugal Zealot"

That's right. I have taken my copy of The Complete Tightwad Gazette down from the book shelf and I am re-reading it.

I have really allowed myself to drift away from trying to find the best cost-effective ways to do things. I have gotten lazy and I need to get back on the frugal straight and narrow!

I hope to chronicle my steps in getting back into the "tightwad" frame of mind.

It's Meredith's fault!

Okay, I was out of town this past weekend, so I have been playing catch-up with my regular blogs.

I was reading Merediths (Like Merchants Ships)and learned about Crystal's new e-book (Secrets to Supermarket Savings). I went ahead and bought a copy also. I am sure I will glean many new ideas.

Not too much is going on in my life. DsS17 just had all four of his wisdom teeth taken out last Friday. The first 24 hours were rather rough on him, but he is better now. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to make THAT frugal. I was just happy we had dental insurance to cover most of it.

I hope to start concentrating on frugal ideas and posting them. I seem to have gotten away from that lately. Time to tighten things up again.

Until then.......

What did they eat in the Middle Ages, mom?

That is the question that my little man asked at dinner tonight. Now, this in itself is not that big of a deal. I encourage it, actually.

We were having a somewhat boring meal of oven-roasted chicken, mashed potatos, green beans and italian bread. Little man wanted to know if this is something they would have eaten in the middle ages. DH and I went into the yes, please veggies that they could grow, along with deer meat, birds and also a coarser kind of bread.

Then....***drumroll please*** "I asked you mom because I know you are old and you were there in the middle ages." Completely serious. I calmly explained to my beloved little man that although mommy is getting up there in age, she was NOT alive in the middle ages. I know what they ate, because I have read books about life in the middle ages.

Sigh.... I am now "old" in my 7 year-old's eyes.

The Festival

We had so much fun!

DS7 had a part in a kids show:



and....



We also rode the ponys there:





The day was beautiful. Weather was mild and the rain stayed away. Although the outfits were not finished in time (so I didn't dress up either), they will be done for next year. I will do them well in advance....so just in case we have a medical situation the week before we are to go (I's cast) they will already be done.

More detail of the past week.

Okay everyone,

So, this past week was not one that I would like to repeat any time soon. LOL

Monday was not bad, just a normal day. Woke of Tuesday morning with a bit of a headache. It had the feel of a possible migraine, so I chose to stay home that morning instead of going out in service. By about 10:30 am, my headache had cleared, I was happy.

I decided to head to the school. Not only to meet up with I and A for their lunches, but I needed to take care of a book issue at the school library. I do all that, have lunch with first I, then A. Say bye and head to the store.

While I am at the checkout at Walmart, my phone rings. Hmmmm.... it's the school's number. I answer and the school nurse says, "Mrs. Fraser, I has had an accident on the monkey bars. He says his arm hurts and I believe he needs to be checked."

"I am just checking out at the Warrenton, Walmart. I will be there as fast as the law will allow." Was my response. I was on my way.

I get to the school about 2:15 p.m. (yes, I did the MAX speed, but I did go over it!) Talked with I and decided, this was not just a "boo-boo" this required a doctor's knowledge, plus x-rays. Called DH, got A from her class and hit the road. STopped long enough for J to jump in the van. (She would stay in the waiting room with A.) and we were at the ER by 2:48 pm (the time on my sign-in form).

Our ER is wonderful....they "fast track" all kids. We went back immediately. After evaluation, they sent for the x-ray tech. Once she came and did her thing, we then waited. (DH had shown up before the x-rays were done).

The doctor got the x-rays back, both bones in his left wrist are broken. Fortunately, kids his age heal really fast, so he should only need his cast for 4-6 weeks. Filled him up with kids tylenol and motrin after putting on a temporary cast, and home we go.

I was able to get an early am appointment with the orthopedic doctor. Ian choose a "sky blue" cast. (He was very specific, it HAD to be sky blue. LOL)

We have a follow up visit in 4 weeks for new x-rays and then we will see where we go from there.

Yes, I am glad that week is OVER!

Hug your kids.....YOU need it!

Wanna know about my week????

Pictures say a 1000 words:

This was after the ER visit.



And this is after the Orthopedic Doctor's visit on Thursday morning.



I'll write more later. :-)

Renn Fest time is almost here!

Okay... it is almost time to attend the Maryland Renaissance Festival. If you have been reading my blog for a year, you would know about my outfit that I made for myself. I fell in love with the outfits in the shops there....but NOT with the prices! LOL

So.....DH, being the loving guy that he is, suggests that I make my own! :-P Okay, this is the girl that has pretty much just made skirts, aprons and curtains with her sewing machine. Moi, make a full blown renaissance style outfit???!!??? Yeah, I did! Here is a picture:



Well, this year I am making a princess type outfit for my little girl. Thankfully there is no boning and all the different pieces that were involved with mine, but there is chiffon. Which I have never worked with before. Oh well, I will post a picture when I am done. Oh, and I will post some pictures of all of us at the festival.

Hugs,

Me

New exercise tape

Oh my goodness..........I am going to feel this tomorrow! (I already feel it alittle now!)



But I LOVE it!

Now, this is not something I would do OUTSIDE my home. And even then, the only person that might see me do this is my hubby! LOL I love how you are using all this different muscles, but it feels like dancing!

I need to get into the habit of exercise....and if I can trick myself into thinking "this is fun", I am more apt to continue it!

I hit my 10% mark last week at Weight Watchers! I don't want to back slide anymore!

Foreward Ho!!!!

So far, so good

Well, both kiddos went to school today. I have not received any phone calls, so hopefully they will both stay. LOL

"A" did not have a good day yesterday. Poor thing. I really beleive it was because big brother was at home sick and she didn't like the idea of being at school by herself. It is an ongoing learning experience.

Got the fish tank completely cleaned out. I have just been trying to get it done for almost a week! LOL But it is done...now I just need to keep up on it and not let it get so bad next time.

I am also planning to get some more fish. Our algea eater passed away, and we are down to only 4 little fish. I don't want too many more...but you can hardly see them swimming around in there.

Have a great day!

In memory of the "Crocodile Hunter"

Okay, I don't normally post about things like this, but I just can't get past how sad I am over Steve Irwin's death.

Maybe it was his personality...or the fact that he seemed so down to earth. I love/loved watching his shows. I always felt that he would be the type to just sit down on your couch and have a chat! Kinda like family.

Now, he leaves behind his wife, Terri and two little children. It just shows how terrible death is!

It reminds me of Revelations 21:4 "And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” (italics mine)

So again, my heart goes out to Terri and her family at this time of tragic loss. Death is such a cruel enemy.

Steve Irwin, the "crocodile hunter"....Gone, but definately not forgotten.

Beta Blogger and strong winds

Okay, so I have switched to the new Blogger Beta program. I hope this will make things easier. But I guess I need to post more entries to know whether it is a help or not! LOL

Well, Ernesto is really hitting Virginia! It has been raining all day, with wind gusts blowing tree limbs and other items all over the place.

School was cancelled today also. It was only going to be a half-day, so not THAT big of a deal, but it does take away what could be a snow day later on.

Rocket is really having a time right now. He is walking around growling. I think the storm is about to get worse. Either that, or one of the kids is eating something that he beleives he should have! LOLOLOL

That's all for now.

First day of school

It is truly hard to beleive that my BABY is old enough for school! But, there is no denying it:



Her brother started Second grade today and little miss started Kindergarten. My how time flies!

Back from the beach

Hi all,

We are back safe and sound. I am now in the midst of washing laundry, going through mail and catching up with online items.

I will post more in the next day or two.... I will also post some pics once I get some on the computer.

Have a great day everyone!

Gold Season Passes

One of our summer activities is to purchase Gold Season Passes to Kings Dominion. For those that are not familiar with Virginia...this is an amusement park owned by Paramount.

The "Gold" passes are ones bought very early in the season for the best price of the year.

We started doing this three years ago and LOVE IT! For less than the cost of two visits, we go all summer. It is a one hour drive each way from our house. Also, after 5 visists, you get a free pass for a friend.

We used two of those today...for a savings of $70.00!

It was fun and we always bring our food....no sense paying THAT much for food there!

Update-- 8-05-06

Hi all,

Today I am taking a few moments to reflect on the week before I go and work on the bathrooms. LOL

Well, my mom went home on Wednesday. :-( I hope she will be able to get back out here again soon.

I have almost all the school supplies for the two little ones. DsS16 will not get his list until after school starts, but I do have some basics that he usually needs. Hey, I have to take advantage of Virginia's "tax-free" weekend. Every penny counts.

Which brings me to yesterday (Friday)!!! Our A/C unit decides to quit working at about 4 p.m. yesterday!!!! Just in time for overtime rates with the service company!!! HOW DO THEY KNEW THE TIME!!!!!!!! LOL

Thankfully it was something MINOR and the bill was ONLY $158.58! (Yes, that was on the sarcastic side, but we were VERY worried about losing our vacation over the A/C unit!)

Vacation is still on the schedule! Fortunately, DH had some overtime on this check...so the a/c didn't completely throw me off budget!

Well, that is all for now.

HEY..if you read this...why don't you pop on over to my message board. We/I are always looking for more people to post! http://onefrugalmom.proboards67.com/index.cgi

Not completely gone...

LOL

Sorry I have been MIA recently. Been really busy with life in general.

Not much is going on..... my mother is visiting from Texas. Heather got a new kitty, named champagne. Which has now been changed to Payne, because what she thought was a girl is a boy! :-D

DS7 had his ultrasound done on his abdomin. We haven't received the "official" repart, but the ultrasound tech said that things "look good". So that is a BIG relief.

I will try and get back into posting more often. Things will be settling down soon.

Toads and little kids

It amazes me that my kids can find the toads that live in our yard! I never see them until I have little kid shoving one in my face with pride! LOL

We also found a little lizard, but it was too fast for us! LOL Of course, DH thought it was funny that I don't have a problem with lizards, but can not stand snakes. I told him they just were not the same!

Oh, I don't think I mentioned what we saw at Kings Dominion the last time we were there. A snake! LOL We were standing in line for the scrambler when this black snake come slithering along the path. LOL The snake just wanted to get away from all the people, but couldn't seem to get there fast enough!

DH had a good laugh from that! Asked me how I handled it....I told him I was fine. I am okay when I see them first from a bit of distance. It is when I come upon one suddenly that I can't seem to breathe!

Just something I need to work on...especially living out here!

Personality quiz

Not bad....some things I feel are correct.

Your Personality Profile

You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant. Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle. You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs. For you, comfort and calm are very important. You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection. You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Pictures as entertainment?

My oldest step-daughter has come up with a new way to entertain her little siblings. Taking pictures with her digital camera!

Sometimes you have to wait for things....like your older sister's high school graduation. LOL It was a "first come, first serve" kinda thing at an outdoors pavilion, so we got there kinda early to make sure we had decent seats. Like most kids, after awhile, they start to get antsy and want to move around. Older sis comes to the rescue, and here are some of the results:



Big sis and little brother.



Self portrait.



Is she photogenic or what????

Gotta love them!

Dresses/skirts vs. pants

Okay, now I can understand someone wanting to only wear dresses or skirts. I favor dresses/skirts myself, but I am not a dresses/skirts only person. I feel you CAN be modest AND wear pants.

**I am not against ones that feel they should wear them only, just don’t try and imply that *I* and not modest if I choose not to be dresses/skirts only.**

Doing my own personal research on this matter, I came across an article in a 1972 Watchtower magazine that puts the matter VERY succinctly. Here is the article in its entirety:

Questions from Readers

• In view of what is written at Deuteronomy 22:5, is it proper for a woman to wear slacks? —U.S.A.

Deuteronomy 22:5 reads: “No garb of an able-bodied man should be put upon a woman, neither should an able-bodied man wear the mantle of a woman; for anybody doing these things is something detestable to Jehovah your God.” This text is not discussing styles of clothing. The prohibition concerns one’s putting on things specifically designed for the opposite sex.

The distinction between the sexes is of divine origin and the law set forth at Deuteronomy 22:5 served to preserve that distinction. When it comes to appearance and attire, the usual thing is for a man to want to look like a man and for a woman to look like a woman. For an Israelite to have acted contrary to this deep internal sense of what is fitting could have led to homosexuality. Thus the law at Deuteronomy 22:5 also opposed this sin.

At the time the law was given, both men and women wore robes. But there was a definite difference between the garb of men and that of women. Similarly, in some parts of the earth today both men and women wear slacks. But styles of slacks for women differ from those for men. Accordingly, the principle taught at Deuteronomy 22:5 would not rule out a woman’s wearing slacks or pants.

Moreover, Christians are not under the Mosaic law. (Rom. 6:14) Insistence on applying the letter of this law would therefore be contrary to Christian teaching. So if a woman were to put on a worn-out pair of her husband’s trousers to do a job around the house or on the farm, she would not be going against the evident purpose of the law, namely, to prevent confusion of sexual identity and sexual abuses.

The fact that Christians are not under the Mosaic law but are guided by its principles calls for them to use discernment, good judgment and to exercise their conscience. A Christian woman appreciates that whether it would be proper for her to wear slacks or pants depends upon factors other than her personal likes. She would not want to be the cause for stumbling others or bring reproach on the Christian congregation. Clothing that may not be looked on with disfavor if worn in the privacy of one’s home or at work may be objectionable if worn at Christian meetings and when publicly proclaiming God’s Word or carrying on other public activity. Attitudes, too, may differ from area to area. The Bible’s counsel is that women “adorn themselves in well-arranged dress, with modesty and soundness of mind, . . . in the way that befits women professing to reverence God, namely, through good works.”—1 Tim. 2:9 10.
(November 1st, 1972 Watchtower magazine)

We also have as a guideline, 1 Timothy 2:9, 10 “Likewise I desire the women to adorn themselves in well-arranged dress, with modesty and soundness of mind, not with styles of hair braiding and gold or pearls or very expensive garb, but in the way that befits women professing to reverence God, namely, through good works.” Thus, Christian women—and men—ought to give thought to what sort of appearance people in their area expect of those “professing to reverence God.” It is especially proper that a Christian give thought to what his appearance will cause others to think of the Bible message that he carries. (2 Corinthians 6:3).

Now, a lot has been said lately, that we should take into consideration the “weakness of men” or in other words, their tendency to look at women as sexual objects INSTEAD of human beings. A scripture that comes to mind is 1 Timothy 5:1,2 “Do not severely criticize an older man. To the contrary, entreat him as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters with all chasteness.” Now, most NORMAL men would NOT look at their mothers as sexual beings, so they NEED to train themselves in this respect to not look at other women that way either!

Okay, enough of that for now…. :-)

Friday thoughts

Not much going on here.... running errands and taking kids here and there. woo hoo!

First off, Kayla, you know I love ya! I know you would help me with anything I asked. I just need to figure out how to do it myself. I am taking it as a challenge to learn. LOL **I hope you get the new house.**

Our garden is doing good. I do need to find out how to freeze zuchinni and yellow squash! Once it is ready....it will come in all at once. LOL

That's all for now.

Random thoughts with no particular theme

Okay, I want to try and make my blog "my own" so to speak. You know different backgrounds.... Different arrangments of items. Now I just need to figure out how. LOL Some of you out there make it look SOOOOO easy! (yes, I am directing this at you Kayla! :-P ) I guess I will be spending my time researching the internet for information on...well, I guess coding! LOL I will need to figure out just WHAT I need to look up!

My little sister gave me some websites to visit to hopefully learn "html"...LOL Yeah right! We will see if this old dog can learn some new tricks.

Oh I remember what I was going to post about when Blogger was having "technical difficulties".

I got a new toy:



I have been playing with some $1 a yard Walmart fabric...trying to get a feel for it. I have a pair of shorts for DD5....that I will use my serger to "finish". I hope I don't ruin them in the process. LOL

School's out for the summer!

I have had that song going through my head all day yesterday! Of course, that is the only verse that I can remember! LOL I hate it when that happens!

Well, I have decided that I will give the kids a few days of "do whatever you want" before I start implementing chores that need to be done around the yard! Hey, gotta let them have alittle bit of vacation.

The biggest issue will be DS6 and DD5 re-adjusting to being around each other all day! It has already started. DD5 is complaining that DS6 is making "too much noise". LOL Yeah, it is going to be a fun summer! But that is why we have a big back yard!

Next will be the 16 year old wanting to know "are we doing anything today?" That will be an almost daily question. With my answer being..."Do you work today?" If the answer is "yes" I will say "Well, I am taking you to work." Not the answer he will want.

Oh well.....off to do laundry and referee two young ones until they adjust to being around each other all day!

I hope this works

Okay, I have been trying to post on here for two days!

It either will not come up at all OR I type out a nice LONG post and then I get an error message and the post is gone. UUUGGGHHHH!!!!

So, before I re-type out my post (which I think I will do under Word first) I am posting this "test" entry.

If this works, then I will re-do my earlier attempts tomorrow. Too late tonight.

Tired

Worked in the garden today. Got hot and sweaty, but made progress with weeds. LOL

Weeded out our rows of corn, weeded the cukes and tomatos. The rest is fairly weed-free this year. Tied up some of my tomato plants.

I already have some baby zuchinni, yellow squash, cukes and tomatoes! Yeah! DH's onions are coming along wonderfully! Peppers are still on the small side, but hopefully the rain will come that they are calling for. If not, we will get the sprinkler going tonight.

I will post more either later tonight or tomorrow.

First of June

and I have sick kiddos.

Okay, only one is still sick, but that sure puts a cramp in my weekly schedule!

I am barely keeping up with laundry....of course, I have had to do extra loads because of the sick ones. :-(

How do you all keep to your schedules when you have a sick one in the house? Or are you like me and you don't.

Of well, the house will still be dusty, but my sick little one needs my attention now...

Talk to you all later.

X-men

This is what we saw today. Although I do not feel it was AS GOOD as the previous two, I still liked it. I guess I just wanted more depth of story. I mean the special effects were great, but I wanted more story! LOL I guess that is a female thing, huh. LOL

The weekend was nothing exciting. DH and DsS16 went on a Boy Scout rafting trip, the other two older ones had their plans, and DD5 was SICK! We spent the weekend, from 3:30 am Saturday until Sunday dealing with fevers and throwing up. Thankfully the fever broke during the early hours of Sunday...so we felt that if she went 24 hours without a fever or throwing up, she was okay for the movies. She was fine. She actually ate this morning. It's amazing what promising a movie trip will do. LOL

**Disclaimer** I know there are ones out there that do not agree with sci-fi/fantasy movies. That is fine for you and your family. For my family, we enjoy them, so please, no comments about those types of movies. Thank you.

I missed an anniversary!!!

I did not realize that I have been blogging for a year now!

I started this blog on May 10th, 2005! I am a female, so how did I FORGET an anniversary??? LOL

Hopefully, I will not forget the second one!

Sometimes the coupons are worth it!

Okay, today I got 10 bags of malt-o-meal cereal for 25 cents! Yup, just had to pay taxes! I love when a store has 10 for $10 sales when I have good coupons! I also got a 4 pack of Bic razors for my DS16 for free! I love getting things for free or almost free.

Just thought I would share my bonus to my pantry!

My Ten

Here are my thankful ten for today: (not in ANY particular order)

1. My relationship with our heavenly father, Jehovah

2. My wonderful husband

3. My children

4. The health of my family

5. The home that we live in

6. The change of the seasons

7. My mother, I am SO glad she is still around for all of us

8. My friends, those that I have seen and those that I know through the internet

9. Yard sales, and the hope that I will find something that I need

10. Craft programs on the computer...they keep the kids entertained for hours

That is what I can think of this morning! have a great weekend!

Never at a computer when I need one...

Okay, why is it that I always think of great things to write about when I am away from the house??? Then, of course, I can never remember my profound thoughts when I get home and have a few minutes on the computer.

I really need to start jotting down my ideas. I do keep a notebook in my purse. I mean, it is my price book, but I do have extra pages in there....and what better place to frugal topics in.

I am starting to get things planned for our vacation in August. DsS16 wanted to know why I was starting now, since it is 3 months before we leave. I just laughed and asked him just what does he need to do to get ready. He said, "Just pack my clothes." I then listed ALL the things I need to get planned organized AND packed before we leave. Not only to I pack for myself and DH, but also the too little ones. Then I have to plan what food to take from here, what I will buy down there, which also involves planning what meal I will fix while there. All this for everyone that is going. Anyways, once I listed things, he looked kinda sheepish and asked if there was anything he could do to help. LOL Gotta love him! I told him I would let him know when the time came. :-)

I am looking into freezer recipes for jams and jellys. I am not sure about canned versions yet, but if I can do some freezer types, I will be happy.

I hit our local thrift shops yesterday.... very disappointing. I really need to head into Manassas for some good finds.

That's all for now.....have a great week.

Wild Alaskan Salmon

I found these frozen at the Super Walmart in Culpeper. They are a minimum of 2 lbs. (so I of course, searched out the biggest ones) for $4.98.

I cooked one over in-direct heat on the grill, wrapped in two sheets of heavy duty foil. I used garlic, lemon and onions for seasoning. It was DELICIOUS!

I now have seven of them in the freezer! I had been trying to figure out how to get more fish into our diets, but the cost just seem TOO high for it to be a weekly staple. DH doesn't like Mrs. Pauls or Gortons, and I don't think fish sticks qualify as REAL fish! LOL

Our local stores are VERY expensive when it comes to fish, so this find is a true frugal budget dream. I am already searching for recipes to try out on the family.

May 1st, 2006

Good evening all,

Just sitting here watching "Texas Ranch house" on PBS. So far, so good. I hope it lives up to it's potential. :-)

I would love to live like that for about 3 months. I think I would miss some of the modern conveniences after that amount of time. LOL I do think the Ranch wife is too bossy and "in control" than she really would have been in 1867, but other than that.... LOL

I know I romanticize that time period, but sometimes, the thought of such a simple life is very appealing. (I just realized I left some clothes on the line.....I hope we don't get any rain tonight!)

Well, it is now 11:00 here. I need to make DH's lunch for tomorrow. Have a great night.

What a life....

Ever have a day where you wished you could trade places with your pet?

Bagel updates

When we last left our struggling baker, she was discouraged by her abysmal bagels.........

I did not try again on Thursday, but I did make some on Friday. Here is a picutre of the results:



As you can tell, these were not any different than the first ones I tried to make. So, my search for a new and different recipe was on....

The first recipe was from Rhonda Barfields "Feed your family for $12.00 a day", the next recipe came from Tawra Kellam's "Dining on a Dime" cookbook. I have come to trust these cookbooks, so I could not understand my problem.

I then decided to look at some of my other cookbooks, like my Better Homes and Gardens one.....I found one! And here are the results:



The biggest difference in this recipe was broiling the bagels before boiling them! This way, they retained their shape when I put them in the boiling water. Not only do they look nice, they taste good also!

Anyways, I made these on Sunday.... I will start making them more often. I also plan to make some for the freezer!

Just thought I would let everyone know how my bagel project went..... have a great day!

bagels

Well, my first attempt at bagels was NOT a success. LOL I was going to try a different recipe, but just couldn't get motivated today.

I will try again on Thursday. I will get these things right! I will not be deterred. Mainly because these are a request from my wonderful DH. If he wants them, I will find out how to make these!

Busy, busy, busy

That pretty much describes the last few days for me.

The weather has been pretty nice lately....not real nice, but better than it has been.

Did alot of yard work the last few days. DH replaced the post lamp out front, replaced four other out door light fixtures, and bought the pipes and other items to put up a clothes line for me.

I have also been dong some "spring" cleaning inside. Clear out some clutter and re-organize things. I have also been busy on the PH board. I don't think I have made that many posts in such a short period of time before. LOL

We had a couple of sad moments here yesterday. We have a Holly tree (I believe it is one...or it is something else that produces red berries) The tree was FULL of finches. Well, they kept flying back and forth to the tree with berries and to other trees. Well, two of them did not clear out house. The first was bad enough, but then the second one hit! Let me tell you, that is not a pleasant sound to hear. I had never seen anything like that before! I have heard of birds flying into windows, but had never had it happen at my home. Thankfully, there have been no other casualties.

Well, this will be all for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful day. It is sunny and 68 here.

Enough for now...

Okay, I couldn't help putting in a bit of fun fluff. I found the link in Kayla's Blog....so it's her fault. LOL

Not alot going on here...just icky cold weather! I WANT WARMTH! I really am craving warmer weather. I want to get out and put some flowers in....I want to get the garden started.

Other than that.....things are pretty normal. Youngest step-daughter is driving me crasy, but that is pretty normal. We had some words last night.....and I think I made it clear that I WILL NOT put up with anything from her. I don't care if I am the "evil-step mother" to her....I can live with that. :-)

Oh well, I guess I need to get off this computer and get some laundry going...... until later.

one more

Your Gemstone is Aquamarine

Intuitive, tranquil, and trusting.You inspire others to have faith in themselves.

What Gemstone Are You?

This one says that my gemstone is aquamarine.

Another one

Your Scent is Lemon

Vivacious, tangy, and livelyYou are one gigantic ball of energy!

What Scent Are You?

This one says that my scent is Lemon.

Found some quizes....

You Are a Carnation

You are down to earth and grounded. You tend to be more traditional than trendy.Your confidence gets you through anything.People trust you and are very loyal to you.

What Flower Are You?

Okay, it is not showing up right, but it is supposed to say that I am a carnation.

Your Spiritual Garden

Your Spiritual Garden

5 ROWS OF PEAS:

Prayer

Prosperity

Promptness

Persistence

Personal Study

5 ROWS OF LETTUCE:

Let us be loyal

Let us show love

Let us be truthful

Let us always progress

Let us maintain intergrity

3 ROWS OF SQUASH:

Squash Gossip

Squash Indifference

Squash Complaining

4 ROWS OF BEETS:

Beat Apathy

Beat wrong desires

Beat discouragement

Beat Satan and his system

2 ROW OF TURNIP:

Turn up at Meeting

Turn up for Field Service

This was posted on one of the boards I frequent. I love this. I think I will print it out and post it on my fridge.

Goodness

Wow, my post from last night was a bit dis-jointed, huh. LOL

I was not only tired, but I had started to post some stuff that I decided I didn't want all over cyber-space. KWIM?

Anyways, I am in a better mood this morning. It is a payday, so I do a larger shopping trip than normal. Plus, since I will be in Culpeper anyways, I will hit the Goodwill store down there! Now, this is not just a "see what I can find" trip, I actually am looking for a new (to us) floor lamp. Ours finally broke beyond repair. I have been scouting around for over a week, and have decided that if I don't find one at Goodwill, I will get a "cheap" one at Walmart. Not ideal, but I really need a lamp. Our living room does not have ceiling light, so at night you can not read in the living room right now. LOL

Well, that is all for now.

Wait....here is my current 10:

1. My relationship with Jehovah and his son, Jesus.
2. My wonderful DH.
3. My children
4. Thrift stores
5. Unlimited long distance! (I talk w/mom almost every morning!)
6. My mom for still being around, miss ya dad!
7. The ability to be a SAHM. Although there is alot of work involved.
8. The warm weather....please stay for awhile.
9. The ability to grow things! Thank you Jehovah!
10. Freecycle....I have gotten some nice things....plus I have blessed a few with items we no longer use.

Okay, that is all for now. If I find anything exciting at Goodwill, I will share.

Another week (and month) coming to an end

Time is just going too fast. It seemed like I was just preparing for THIS week.

This will be short, cuz I want to go to bed. LOL

Nothing exciting happened, but that is not a bad thing.

Had a family picture made on Tuesday....Jenny made a scene, of course. That doesn't surprise me. The picture looks nice and that is all that matters.

Have a great Friday, and if I don't post tomorrow, have a great weekend.

Morning 10

Good morning all,

1. Relationship with Jehovah and his son Jesus Christ.
2. DH
3. My kids
4. My mom
5. My home
6. My pets
7. The funds to attend WW meetings
8. A DH who is very supportive of my WW journey
9. My blog
10. This new day with all it's possiblities!

Tuesday, 3-28-06

First, here are my 10:

1. My relationship with Jehovah God.

2. My wonderful DH.

3. My family

4. My home that DH works hard to provide for

5. Vetinarians.

6. The health of my cat

7. Being able to be there for Heather (she had to have her cat put to sleep today.)

8. Be able to not work outside the home.

9. The love of a pet

10. My vehicle that works without much cost.

My ten for this morning

1. The ability to have a personal relationship with Jehovah God and his son Jesus Christ.

2. My DH, the best man in this world for me.

3. My beautiful children, and that fact that I have the proud title of "Mommy".

4. My home, it is not big or fancy, but it is ours and I work to make it a refuge for my family.

5. My Mom. She is the one that I look up to, and strive to be like, in everything.

6. My Kitchen Aid mixer, it makes bread baking so easy.

7. My VCR, it helps to entertain my little boy who is home sick from school.

8. My mother's intuition, I have learned to trust it. It has yet to fail me.

9. My cookbooks. They give me inspiration when I feel that our meals are "in a rut".

10. The ability to learn new things.

Ten things I am thankful for today

This is something that is going around on the web, so I thought I would add mine.

1. The ability to have a personal relationship with Jehovah God and his son Jesus Christ.

2. My DH, the best man in this world for me.

3. My beautiful children, and that fact that I have the proud title of "Mommy".

4. My home, it is not big or fancy, but it is ours and I work to make it a refuge for my family.

5. My Mom. She is the one that I look up to, and strive to be like, in everything.

6. The food that I prepare for my family.

7. My health and the health of my family.

8. My front-loading washer and dryer. It makes doing laundry for a family of seven easier.

9. The internet. The friends and information that I have access to with the push of a button.

10. The Dollar Tree store. I bought some very nice scrapping supplies there today.

Okay, those are the ones I can think of right now. Some will never change, but others will change from time to time.

Weekly tidbits

This week was rather un-eventful. (Which is what I like!)

Picked up DS6 from school on Monday. Poor thing had a bad headache, those dang allergies. Put him in my bed with some tylenol and a good movie on the t.v. That helped. :-)

Tuesday, I had a bit of a tummy bug....or something similar.

Wednesday was WW, down a pound, then some errands that didn't get done on Monday.

Thursday, I spent the day baking for the First grade bake sale for Friday. That was fun. Then DH took the two little ones and me out to eat. That was a VERY nice treat. (The older step kids were working.) Oh....plus the little ones received a nice size box in the mail from Grandma in Texas. They loved their surprises.

Today, was spent RUNNING around all day. I put over 100 miles on my mini van. LOL First dropped DS6 and the brownies/cookies off at school, then headed down to the Super Walmart for groceries. Came back home to put the fridge and freezer items away. Then went to the Dollar store, Safeway and Petco (dang fleas!). Then I needed to get home to feed DD4 before heading BACK to the school to help with the selling of the bake goods. It was really fun. After getting home at about 3:45, I then turned around and took DsS16 to work, ran by the post office, the bank and then the grocery store. WHEW!! I was tired. After resting a bit, I then made a couple of simple pizzas, and now I am "relaxing" on the computer.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Spring!

Okay, I know it is not officially spring yet......but today has been wonderful!

It is currently 75 degrees outside! Slight breeze, but not chilly. I was out with DD4 earlier planning where I want my flower beds out front. I have these ideas....plus even a couple of sketches, I now have to see if they are do-able. LOL

Not much else is going on, just fight spring fever.

This spring, some of the frugal ideas that I want to implement are:

Putting up a clothesline. Not only to save money on the electric dryer, but I LOVE the smell of sun-dried clothing, sheets and towels!

Building a chicken coop. This is still in the discussion and development stage. I need to make sure that I can devout the time to this. Also, DH wants to spend a week at the beach...so I have to make sure that someone can take care of them while we are gone. This might have to be a project that waits until next spring. Nothing is decided yet.

Put more attention to the garden this year. Last year, we let the weeds take over becasue we had so many other projects that NEEDED to get done. This year, there are fewer "have to's" around the house. I also plan to invest in more established plants instead of seeds. I am not experienced enough to start my own plants from seeds yet. But I will be someday!

That is all for now.

Kids say the cutest things.....

I was reading the blog of a fellow PH'er (Like Merchant Ships) and it reminded me of something my littlest said the other night to DH. He was letting her eat some chocolate chips in a bowl, and of course, playing around with her by only putting two chips in the bowl. She looked at them and said "only two?" He asked how many she wanted....she said "at least 4 or 3 or 7"...he poured some more in and then asked her "how many is that?" This is her answer...completely deadpan....."Not enough." I lost it....it was so cute.

What is it with kids and their innocent bluntness? My DS6 is called "Mr. Loophole". Seriously, he can figure out how to get around anything! (okay, practically anything. I have learned to word things VERY carefully.) I agree with Meredith......they are sometimes too smart for their own good!

But I would change a thing!

My Children.....my way.

On one of the message boards that I love, there is a thread concerning a "sister issue".

The issue in a nut-shell....the poster's sister wanted to take her daughter out to eat for her brithday. Nothing wrong there, but she wanted her sister to dress 'appropriately" and to not listen to "her music". Her sister got mad and hung up on her and now she is not sure what to do.

Now, for the responses. I was truly surprised at how many people thought the poster should call and "apologize" for asking her to dress a certain way and to not listen to her own music! Call me old-fashion (which I would not mind!) or even over-protective, but if I am allowing MY child/ren to go with a family member (or even a close friend), that does not mean that I am giving up my right, my God-given right to control what my child is exposed to!

I would be the one OFFENDED if my wishes concerning my children were not respected. Even if the family member/friend did not agree with my decision. Unless I am putting my child/ren in danger or at risk, then they need to respect that I am raising my child/ren the way I (I guess I really should say "we" since my DH and I are usually on the same page) feel is best for them.

Okay, I will put my soap-box away for now. Have a great night everyone.

Being Frugal

I haven't posted anything concerning frugality in awhile. That is rather remiss of me, considering the title of this blog.

One of the easiest ways to be frugal is concerning food. Some people show signs of shock when I say that, but it is true. I work very hard in finding ways to reduce the food budget and also the stretch what I do have as far as possible.

First....cook more from scratch. That is the easiest thing to do to reduce your bill. I buy VERY few "convenience" foods. If and when I do purchase them, it is when they are on sale, with a coupon. Every so often, I will be able to get my hands on .50 off one box of Totinos pizza rolls (which I personally think taste like cardboard, but my DsS16 likes them)....now at least once a month one of my local stores sales them during one of their 10 for $10 sales. So, a .50 coupon doubles to $1...thus I pay only tax for the box of pizza rolls. I still have 4 boxes in the freezer from last time. :-) I have gotten several items like that in the past.

I strive to keep my freezers (we have an upright one and the one with the fridge) full of "best price" meats. Then I plan my meals around what I have in the freezer and what is either in my pantry or a "loss-leader" at the stores that week. {loss-leader= items that a store sells at a loss to get you to come in and hopefully buy other items that are not on sale}

A price book also comes in handy. This is a little notebook that I use to keep track of prices in my favorite stores. This way, I can know for sure whether a sale is truly a "sale". I have found that one stores idea of a sale is NOT my idea of one! LOL

I also shop for alot of my food items at Aldi's. A private chain that sells mainly their own private label. They are a "no-frills" kinda place that suits me fine.

This summer I also hope to can, freeze and de-hydrate as many vegetables as I can. This way, I will be able to reduce my food budget even more. (Last year was not a good garden year, but we hope to learn from some of our mistakes.)

These are just a few of my thoughts and practices concerning saving on our food budget. I will post some more ideas in the future.

2-7-06

So...so much for my "I am going to blog more" idea. LOL

Well, lets see. I finally finished the second skirt for my mom. Sent those out yesterday, so she should get them by Thursday. I then had to take my sewing room down and relocate everything back to the basement. My step-daughter decided to come back home.

I know I should be happy, because it is the only way she will have a chance to graduate (she is currently failing), but I am just worried she will cause all the stress and disruption she caused before. DH promises that he will not let her and that he will kick her out if she starts all that stuff again. I guess only time will tell.

I am really getting frustrated on a part that I am doing Thursday night! I shouldn't let it stress me, but that doesn't take alot to do right now. I just need to keep in mind 2 Corinthians 3:5
"Not that we of ourselves are adequately qualified to reckon anything as issuing from ourselves, but our being adequately qualified issues from God." I know I will be fine.... I guess I should get off of here and start working on it now. :-)

I will try and type again sooner.

Have you ever sat down and evaluated where you are in you life?

I did this alittle last night. See, today I turn 35. (No, I do not celebrate this day, but I do have to acknowledge that I have to change what I write on medical forms from this day forward. :-) ) How do I feel about my life up to now, and what would I like to change in the future.

I am happy with where I am...a loving DH..two wonderful DC, and two out of three step children that like me . I have the rare and wonderful privilege to stay at home with my children and the ability to piddle in my Mary Kay business. (I do mean to do more than piddle, but for now, I am just trying to stay active and build from there.)

What I would like to see as far as changes.... strive to be a better keeper of our home, increase my personal Bible study, increase my Bible studies with the dc and to increase my activity out in service.

Now, these are ALL do-able...I just have to put forth the effort. And I am PRAYING for help in that matter.

Well, those are my deep thoughts for the day...I am not off to play a game of Dora's chutes and ladders with my little girl.

False hopes of being a writer.....

I have tried to start a post several times today. I felt I needed to write SOMETHING. LOL

I keep getting what can only be called writers block....well, it could be called other things, but hey, I can be delusional, I mean optimistic.

I used to have dreams of being a writer. I wrote short story after short story in high school. Even got a couple published….in the school paper. That doesn’t take a whole lot of talent to accomplish, but it is still nice.

Now, I have trouble thinking of things to post here on this blog. I guess I should be happy that my life is not very traumatic or dramatic.

Who knows, maybe I will start a short story….from a more mature perspective…. The delusion, I mean dream continues!:-)

January 11, 2006

The month is a third over and I haven't posted anything new! :-(

Not alot has happened recently, which is nice for a change after December. I have been trying to get back on track with keeping the housekeeping up. I kinda slacked a bit (okay a lot!) in December.

I have really had to mentally shake myself, because I have been kinda "resenting" the housework I have to do. Then I thought, Get over it Molly! You have the rare privilege to stay at home with your children. You don't have to put your kids in day care or after school programs until you can rush home after working all day in an office! (Sometimes I REALLY have to shake myself up a bit!)

I have also been thinking alot about being there for DH. What can I do to make things even easier on him? Have I mentioned before that he works a full-time AND a part-time job? He does that SO that I can stay home with the kids. He likes that I am here when they get home from school, that I am here to keep them home if they are sick. So, I am trying to go that EXTRA mile to show how much I appreciate what he does. I try to keep things tidy around the house, I also try and do as much as I am capable of around the house (maintenance-wise). I know there are things that I am just not physically able to do, but even then, I am trying to have DS16 learn to do things and have him do them. I truly want DH's evening and weekends to be free for him to do what he wants to do.

It is an ongoing process, that I hope will continue to bear good results.

Have a great day!

Molly